Dencio will put his NSW state super featherweight title on the line against former Australian lightweight champion Brendan Saunders in an eight round bout.

Advertisement

The 28-year-old's ambition was clear when he stepped into the ring for the first time. He wants to be a world champion, and he won't rest until he gets there.

He lives and breathes boxing. He gets up, goes to work as a carpenter, then goes to training. When people ask what he is doing after work, his answer is always the same.

"I'm going to training".

A win over Saunders in what Dencio has dubbed "the toughest fight of my career" would open the door for an Australian super featherweight title shot in his hometown in November.

It would mean Dencio has come a long way since his days as a junior rugby player.

Loading

"I’ve been doing it for two years now, so eventually you’ve got to taking the bigger fights, every one has got to be bigger than the last one," Dencio said from a sauna, as he shed the final few hundred grams in his weight cut.

"I’d been playing rugby since I was five and I wasn’t going where I want to be. I had always wanted to box so I started boxing and here I am.

"It’s looking good [for this fight], I’m fit, fast and on weight."

Dencio rocketed to 3-0 early inside his first year as a professional before he suffered the only blemish on his record.

It was a technical decision loss to Michael Hamilton for the NSW title, a fight stopped early because of a nasty cut that opened up on Dencio - but even in that bout he was clawing his way back on top and looked to be finishing far stronger.

"It’s been a not bad couple of years," Dencio laughed.

While he has his heart set on being the best in the world, Dencio has already begun using his platform as a boxer to spark change.